Iss. #311 | Introducing Ping Pong Golf

"Say that again??... I don't get snacks at gas stations." - Zach Johnson turning an otherwise lighthearted made-for-social interview into a portrait of a mad man. Gas station snacks are one of life's simplest and guilt-free pleasures. Gas stations are where flavor combos that previously would've seemed unimaginable become commonplace. Nerds gummy clusters and Gardettos? Ring 'em up. Takis and a Twix? Throw it on my card. To flippantly dismiss gas station snacks like that is a criminal offense. 

Ping Pong Golf

THE MASHUP WE NEVER SAW COMING

Deep in the obscure world of The Ocho level sports, Reddit discovered a variation on golf played with ping pong paddles, a ping pong ball, and an enormous undulating table of astroturf.

The clips only show this same hole so would've liked to see less links-style options as well. That said, it looks like a blast and 100% the kind of activities I got into during college. Pointless, golf-centric, and requiring obnoxious amounts of room to setup.

Just picture the early peeks of spring in Syracuse, New York. Up and down Sumner Ave. are nine mega sized folding tables with astroturf draped over each. Massive coolers sit by each table, stocked to the brim with Labatt Blue and Keystone Lights. We roll up, paddles in hand, ready to tee off. Life is good. (Now excuse me while I go clean off crayon and a puddle of spilled watercolor paint from my kitchen table before it stains.)

TGL Announce New Season Rosters

THE SOCIAL TEAM WAS COOKIN'!

I'll start the TGL section off with a firm and supportive pat on my own back. Two weeks ago I threw some darts at the board and tried to guess which players would be joining the all vibes crew of Brooks Koepka and Jackson Koivun on the Detroit squad. And while I get no points for the fact that Jake Knapp was the first name I cut for the final five... I did nail the Si Woo Kim pick! A nice moment for me.

The other TGL news is that all franchises added to their official rosters and the social team absolutely cooked with this old school NBA Jam meets Tecmo Bowl style graphic package. I actually think TGL doing a licensed collab with Golden Tee isn't an awful idea either. Imagine every Golden Tee game in bars across the country suddenly updated with TGL on-screen packages and the ability to select teams NBA Jam style based on the actual TGL rosters. I'd play.

Definitely give it a watch as they packed a few fun easter eggs in for the different player fun facts and stat lines.

From Golden Tee to No Tee

THE STREET BALL OF GOLF

Big news for niche golf was the investment from Jordan Brand into the No Tees Tour. They held one of their first events in partnership with the Kohler properties in Wisconsin and I caught some of their sizzles on my feed recently.

As their press release details: "Founded by Will Lowery, No Tees was built to create another way for people to discover and connect with golf. Inspired by the energy of streetball culture, No Tees is often described as HORSE meets golf. Built around head-to-head chipping and putting battles, or what golfers know as getting up and down, the format turns the short game into a fast-paced competition where imagination, strategy, and execution matter more than distance."

Capitalizing on the gamified practice routines we all are prone to on buddies golf trips, I like to see the niche-ing down on golf in this kind of a way. Not everybody has time for full rounds or to watch entire YouTube matches (<cough> see also: me <cough>), so finding these kinds of corners to explore while keeping the golf IQ high is impressive. There's probably a cap on the market for something like this, but I could also see this becoming a format within TGL let's say or a mini game that gets added to charity tournaments etc. 

Public Service Announcement

BILL MURRAY'S NEW GOLF SHOW PREMIERES TODAY

A Course Called Ireland premieres today on Paramount+, featuring six 30 minute episodes about famous golf writer Tom Coyne's book by the same name. (For what it's worth, Tom writes a helluva golf book as I read A Course Called America and loved it.) 

The book from 2009 chronicled Tom walking the Irish countryside and playing every course he came across—fast forward to today and the two apparently do something similar only, as you'd imagine, the interactions with the locals take on a whole new energy when Bill Murray is also in attendance.

In our house we have Great British Bakeoff queued up any time we need a complete decompress from a stressful day, and my hope is that this series can be the golf equivalent. A massage for the mind as I let myself dream of the day me and the family can take off for Ireland to leisurely patrol the countryside, sneaking in some rounds as we go.

Can't wait to watch and hope it lives up to my expectations—and with Bill, I can't imagine it won't.